Running About
A range of talents make the DutchCraft DC25 electric tender a perfect runabout and worthy of being described as capable.
Terms like ‘versatile’ and ‘capable’ are commonplace in the marketing spiels doled out by boat manufacturers. As we all know, a word repeated too many times soon becomes a blunt, foreign-sounding utterance. To describe a large boat as ‘versatile’ seems redundant; the bigger it is, by virtue, the more you can do aboard. Similarly, to say a boat is ‘capable’ only ever begs the question: capable of what?
But wait, what's this? DutchCraft have come through with their new DC25 electric tender, a snappy little runabout that has all the right medicine to cure us of our jargon fatigue. After introducing itself as “the electric boat driven by versatility”, the flexible little craft goes on to display a range of talents that can really only be described as, for lack of a better word, multifaceted.
It all starts with the compact, low-slung drivetrain that lets DutchCraft lay the foundation for a modular tender: a big flat deck. This enables furniture and fittings to be rearranged at will, so that owners can switch a padded bench seat for custom dive racks, taking it from a 12-person transporter to an eight-person dive hub. Mix it up to create space for a jetski or two, and if, for whatever reason, the owner has a whim to hoist a car aboard and ferry it from place to place, the DC25 can do that too.
More important than all this utilitarian hauling and transporting, however, is the boat's potential as a nimble entertainer, thanks to a fold-down stern bulwark that makes for a perfect swim platform. Another useful feature is the collapsible hard-top that can be lowered to fit into a tender garage or can cover the foredeck while underway to protect precious cargo.
A shallow draft and compact drivetrain allow the DC25 to edge right up onto secluded sandy beaches, and then the hinged bow door makes it a breeze to step on and off.
The electric drivetrain produces a quiet ride that doesn't waft engine fumes about on the breeze like a sputtering fuel guzzler. When it's fully charged, the system can manage a healthy 75 minutes running at 32 knots, or a respectable six hours at six knots.
Evidently, the technology that drives electric boats is continually improving. The downside, at least for the time being, is a lack of communal charging facilities like those which are becoming available to electric car owners. Unlike its larger electric counterparts, the DC25 has no provision for solar panels to soak up rays on the run, so it's more or less limited to shuttling passengers to and from the safety of the tender garage and short trips within reach of the vital charge point. Perhaps it's this limiting factor that prevents the DC25 from being a truly versatile vessel, but it's certainly a worthy nominee.
SPECS
DutchCraft DC25
PRICE from €275,000
LENGTH (overall) 8.04m
(26ft 5in)
BEAM 2.38m (7ft 10in)
DRAFT 0.82m (2ft 8in)
Battery (standard) 79kWh
Battery (optional) 106kWh & 127kWh
WATER 42L
WEB dutchcraft.com